Currently:
Postdoctoral Researcher, Rice University. Supervised by Prof. Cin-Ty Lee as part of the CLEVER Planets group.
I study processes in the crusts and mantles of rocky planets using mineralogical, petrological, and geochemical tools. My work combines in-situ methods (e.g., EPMA, EBSD, LA-ICP-MS) with mineral and bulk rock geochemistry (e.g., major and trace elements, O, Nd, Sr, and B isotopes), detailed characterization of rock mineralogy in thin section, and numerical modelling. I also work on pure and applied aspects of mineralogy, including crystal chemistry and the responses of crystal structures to changing P-T conditions, and have developed new crystallographic methods for interpreting exsolution textures, particularly in crystalline rocks.
In addition to studies of critical mineral transport in igneous systems and planetary geology, my current work focuses on understanding the formation of massif-type anorthosites. These enormous and enigmatic igneous intrusions point to exceptional magmatic and/or tectonic processes during the middle part of Earth’s history and may hold the key to understanding the physical evolution of Earth’s lithosphere through time.
About me
Recently, my work has focused on the ways in which rock mineralogy preserves information about changes to Earth’s crust and mantle through time. The formation and recycling of Precambrian rock types like banded iron formations and massif-type anorthosites record the stories of how a tectonically active planet’s surface environments, lithosphere, and mantle evolve. These processes also help us understand how Earth may be similar to, or different from, other rocky planets at various stages of their lifetimes.
One of my longstanding interests is the information preserved in exsolution textures, especially in garnet. Exsolution textures are some of the most beautiful mineral structures on Earth (and in space!) and they hold a wealth of data about mineral chemistry as well as about the pressure, temperature, and deformation conditions at which exsolution occurred.
I have experience cataloging, curating, and teaching from mineral collections at Rice University, Yale University, and Colgate University and I’ve helped develop museum displays for public outreach and education.
Anorthosite of the Marcy Massif, Adirondack Highlands, NY, USA
Orthopyroxene megacryst in anorthosite, Marcy Massif, Adirondack Highlands, NY, USA
Fieldwork on subduction zone marbles, Tinos, Greece
Garnet (~8 mm) in feldspar, Ishikawa Pegmatite District, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan
I believe that field geology is an important part of placing mineralogical, petrological, and geochemical samples and data in a broader context. My work includes a field component to ground it in regional geology and tectonics.
My field research experience has brought my around the world and includes: Maryland, USA (undergraduate thesis); Broken Hill, Australia; Central Maine Terrane, CT, USA (PhD dissertation); Tinos Island, Greece; Adirondack highlands, NY, USA.
I have also contributed to others’ education in field geology by co-planning and co-leading Yale field trips in New England and Japan. I look forward to more field teaching in the future!
Folded rocks of the subduction complex exhumed near Kochi on the island of Shikoku in Japan